Epidemiol Health.  2022;44(1):e2022014. 10.4178/epih.e2022014.

Development and validation of the Pediatric-Youth Hyperphagia Assessment for Prader-Willi syndrome

• Cho SY
• Kang D
• Im M
• Yang A
• Kim MS
• Kim J
• Noh ES
• Kwon EK
• Choi E
• Han S
• Park YA
• Kwak MJ
• Kim Y
• Cho J
• Jin DK

• KMID: 2536687
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2022014

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Hyperphagia is a highly stressful, life-threatening feature of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). It is important to assess this complex behavior accurately over time. This study aimed to develop and validate the Pediatric-Youth Hyperphagia Assessment for Prader-Willi syndrome (PYHAP) as a tool targeting children and adolescents.
METHODS
After an extensive literature review and qualitative interviews, the final version of the PYHAP with 14 questions in 3 domains (verbal [5], behavior [4], and social [5]) was developed and tested at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Korea from July 2018 to September 2019. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to confirm construct validity. The correlations between the PYHAP and the Korean Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (K-CEBQ) were calculated to evaluate convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion validity and the validity of the response categories were also tested.
RESULTS
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the PYHAP was 0.91. The fit indices for CFA were good (comparative fit index, 0.87; standardized root mean squared residual, 0.08). The domains of the PYHAP were closely correlated with the relevant domains of the K-CEBQ. The accuracy of the PYHAP score for predicting uncontrolled hyperphagia was good (area under the curve, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.65 to 0.85).
CONCLUSIONS
The PYHAP was confirmed to be a reliable and valid tool to evaluate hyperphagia in children and adolescents with PWS via caregivers’ assessments. It is recommended to use the PYHAP to communicate with parents or caregivers about patients’ hyperphagia or to monitor and manage extreme behaviors in children with PWS.

Keyword

Prader-Willi syndrome; Hyperphagia; Appetite; Questionnaire; Eating disorder; Obesity